Help me put the finishing touch on my rig - THE CAB!

I could really use your collective expertise here. Thanks in advance guys!

I've spent the last two years assembling the perfect rig for my sound, except for one factor: the cabinet. Let me first describe my ideal sound and playing style, and I'll tell you what I'm using for the rest of my gear.

My ideal sound is similar to Stefan Lessard's (of Dave Matthews Band) on "Don't Drink the Water," from their Live in Central Park DVD. If you haven't heard it, think very clear and clean. Smooth low end with no rumble, drive or burp; Telecaster-spank clean high end and slap tones, and most of all, punchy upper-mids. I don't *scoop* the lower mids, but I definitely don't want a fat, bluesy tone... I'm going more for funky/rock punch.

I play a Modulus Quantum 5-string with Bartolini pickups and an Aguilar preamp, Thomastik-Infeld Power Bass strings, into an Aphex Bass Xciter for added clarity, and then into an Ampeg SVP-Pro. I keep the drive at 0 and keep the Hi-boost on. I usually keep the EQ fairly flat but sometimes I'll bump up the very low lows for a bit of thump, or the upper-mids for a little spank.

My amp is a Crown K2 (2500 watts bridged at 4 ohms).

Right now I'm using a Carvin RL410, but I'm looking at the Schroeder 410, unless you guys think something else would be better for me.

If you have any questions or need more info from me please don't hesitate to ask, or email dave@sanserifband.com.

P.S. I'm looking for something fairly compact, as I play out a lot and have a bad back, lol. I've tried some Phil Jones enclosures but I don't think they reproduce the low B string very well, although I really like their clarity and punuch. I like the Ampeg BSE410HLF, but honestly I'd rather spend more and get something that sounds a little better.

I'd go with the schroeder, nothing comes to close to em in a live band setting, not to mention they are all really efficient and 2000+ watts would be killer though any of em.

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Thanks, xb!

Any other opinions? I'm interested to hear if anybody thinks the Schroeder WOULDN'T be right for me for some reason, otherwise I'll probably end up going with that. Also, which Schroeder do you think is good? I know that Schroeders are characteristically loud for their size... is the 410 too much, if I'm getting along with a Carvin RL410 now?

I own the 1210. I can easily EQ it for any setting, or moreless just adjust my technique.

I had my first practice today running it with my new Carvin DCM1000.......wow...thunder

Great cabinets.

I honestly can't think of a reasonable setting aside from large outdoor gigs without PA support that you would need more than a 1210 or 1212 aside from just personal preference for the larger cabs, which is cool... speaking of which, I will own a 3101212 one day...I just have to..

Very cool, Snoman. I'm not so concerned with appearances... I used to use a 4x10 and a 1x18, but gave them up really quickly (bad back, remember?) If somebody made a bass cab that sounded as good as a 4x10 but the size of a 1x12 guitar amp, I'd buy it in a second.

The only thing I'm concerned about is using a 12 instead of a 10... Does it have that really tight "punch" of 10s, even though it uses a 12 and a 10? That's the main reason I was looking at the 410 in the first place.

Not sure if you saw my post a week or so ago, but my old rig was a Quantum 5 -> SVP-Pro -> Eden WT-1000 -> Eden D-210XLT + D-115XLT. That was the best bass tone I've ever had, deep, punchy, clear, and complete. I think you'd be quite happy with that kind of setup, the 115 is an amazing cabinet.

From what you have described, I would strongly recommend either EA or Bergantino cabs.

Tom.

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Thanks, Tom. I'll check out EA and Bergantino cabs in the Gear Reviews.

I want to expand on what I meant by "thump" - I'm after that bump in your chest when you are muting with your left hand and just hit the strings with your right (for rightys). I also love a "sticky" staccato sound ("thu-thu-thu" quickly, like tounging a horn, for muted, plucked notes), very clear and crisp but not shimmery. If I had to sum up my ideal tone in three words it would be: thump (low end), crisp (high-end), and sticky, if that makes sense.

Thanks, Tom. I'll check out EA and Bergantino cabs in the Gear Reviews.

I want to expand on what I meant by "thump" - I'm after that bump in your chest when you are muting with your left hand and just hit the strings with your right (for rightys). I also love a "sticky" staccato sound ("thu-thu-thu" for muted, plucked notes), very clear and crisp but not shimmery. If I had to sum up my ideal tone in three words it would be: thump (low end), crisp (high-end), and sticky, if that makes sense.

Sorry, it's hard to describe tone with text alone

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I think I have an idea of what tone you are after. If you tell me what size rig (or alternately, what size venues) you are after, and whether you value a lightweight, compact rig over a larger, heavier (but perhaps more sonically rewarding) rig, I could maybe give some more specific recommendations.

Thanks, Tom. I'll check out EA and Bergantino cabs in the Gear Reviews.

I want to expand on what I meant by "thump" - I'm after that bump in your chest when you are muting with your left hand and just hit the strings with your right (for rightys). I also love a "sticky" staccato sound ("thu-thu-thu" quickly, like tounging a horn, for muted, plucked notes), very clear and crisp but not shimmery. If I had to sum up my ideal tone in three words it would be: thump (low end), crisp (high-end), and sticky, if that makes sense.

Sorry, it's hard to describe tone with text alone

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holy crap, i disagree! You should write for bass review magazines. Your tone vocab is impressive!

I want to expand on what I meant by "thump" - I'm after that bump in your chest when you are muting with your left hand and just hit the strings with your right (for rightys). I also love a "sticky" staccato sound ("thu-thu-thu" quickly, like tounging a horn, for muted, plucked notes), very clear and crisp but not shimmery. If I had to sum up my ideal tone in three words it would be: thump (low end), crisp (high-end), and sticky, if that makes sense.

Sorry, it's hard to describe tone with text alone

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That was actually one of the best descriptions of a desired tone I've read.... Schroeder 410 seems like it would be the bomb for that sound... also the larger Berg cabs also seem like they would do you well (not the 'retro' cabs, but the 'standard' series IMO). The EA 210 would probably be cool... but you would need two of them. All in all, for price, volume and sound... for you.... I would recommend the Schroeder410 in a big way! The Eden410XLT would probably serve you well also IMO